


Out of the Blue

by rikke



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-12
Updated: 2015-09-21
Packaged: 2018-04-20 11:18:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4785413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rikke/pseuds/rikke
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Drunken one-night-stands with hot strangers are not supposed to accidentally be drunken one-night-stands with best friends--particularly not if it’s a best friend Rin hasn’t seen in 6 years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The music was so loud that he could feel it vibrating the floor beneath his feet. The neon lights threw random patterns into the darkness of the masses of heated bodies dancing to some club remix dubstep. And Rin was that in-between sort of drunk where he wanted to get up on that bar counter and dance, but not yet drunk enough that he wouldn’t remember doing it tomorrow morning.

“Rin-san, what are you doing?” Rei shouted in his ear as Rin shoved a knee up on the bar counter where a line of girls were already dancing, heels long gone.

“Dancing!” Rin said and clambered onto the counter.

“You can’t just--”

“Yay! I want to come up too!” Nagisa cheered and tugged at Rin’s jeans until he helped pull him up. Nagisa was wearing at least 5 glow necklaces, and for someone already 24 and actively working as a bartender, Rin knew for a fact that Nagisa had never actually been to a bar where he hadn’t gotten carded at least once.

“Aren’t you glad I made you come now?” Nagisa shouted at Rin.

Rin had gotten the call three weeks ago where Nagisa had announced they were all going to Las Vegas for an Iwatobi Swim Club Reunion.

“But why Vegas” Rin had asked. “ We’re all in Japan--”

“Rei-chan isn’t,” Nagisa said. At least it was a phone conversation, and Rin wasn’t being subjected to Nagisa’s puppy eyes which were at least as effective as Ai’s if not more because Nagisa knew exactly what he was doing and took no prisoners. “He’s studying in Berkeley--”

“I know so if we have to visit, can’t we go to California?” Rin said. “I doubt Rei cares if we’re in Vegas or not.”

Since graduation, Rin had gone to study in Australia, returning to Japan after three years to join the Japan Olympic swim team with Haru who had stayed in Tokyo for the same reason. Makoto had meanwhile become a ridiculously popular swim coach, and traveled between Iwatobi and Tokyo for work. Rei had gone on to study for a master’s degree in America, and Nagisa apparently tagged along wherever Rei went, content to take whatever random job suited him at the moment--which was apparently bartending at a popular club in San Francisco currently.

“But I’ve never been,” Nagisa said. “Please? Everyone else already said yes--Mako-chan, Haru-chan, Rei-chan--it won’t be an Iwatobi reunion without you!”

“You realize I went to Samezuka,” Rin said.

“I mean the ITSC,” Nagisa said.

“Then Rei technically wasn’t there,” Rin said.

“Rin-chan,” Nagisa whined. “Rin-chaaaaan pleeeeeeeeeease _pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee_ \--”

“Okay fine!” Rin caved.

He could almost hear Nagisa’s beaming across the phone. “Great! I’ll send you the itinerary! See you in a few days!” he chirped and hung up.

So three weeks later, on one of his precious few off-training weeks, Rin boarded a plane and landed in Vegas where he had proceeded to:

  1. Get very drunk at Nagisa’s insistence.
  2. Feel compelled to challenge Haru to a race when Haru dove headfirst into the Bellagio fountains.
  3. Get physically dragged out of the fountains and back into their hotel to get more drunk before heading for a restaurant, and then a nightclub, and then a bar, and then another nightclub.



Rin had long ago lost track of exactly which part of which casino he was in, and just hoped that someone else was sober enough to know how to get them all back.

Between the flashing lights and the alcohol coursing through his bloodstream, Rin couldn’t make out much more than silhouettes. The last he’d seen Makoto and Haru, they’d been awkwardly shuffle-dancing together.

It had been a great year for Rin. He’d won his second silver and first gold medal at the Olympics. He had sports apparel contracts and sponsorships coming out of his ears, and it looked like things were going to be going well in the foreseeable future. His mother was healthy and well-provided for with his current success now. Gou was studying sports medicine--specifically physical training and nutrition--and doing unsurprisingly well.

So if Rin wanted to dance on a table top, he was going to. And if he wanted to take his shirt off because it was stiflingly hot in this club, it was dark, no one could see anything in the flashing lights anyway. And even if they could, Rin had a perfect six-pack so he had nothing to lose.

He would have to work out twice as much in the next few weeks to make up for this alcoholic calorie intake, though.

“Whoo! Take it off!” Nagisa cheered next to him, and proceeded to grind up between Rin and a girl.

The only thing not absolutely perfect in Rin’s life right now was his distinct lack of a significant other. But between his training and schedule, he barely had time to see friends much less the time investment a relationship would take. And Rin didn’t do casual relationships no matter how many times other friends suggested that having a fuck-buddy or a one-night-stand wasn’t exactly uncommon in this day and age--they could make fun of him for being a romantic all they wanted, but he still felt like scum if he accidentally led on anyone he wasn’t interested in.

Also--and this was the part Rin had kept secret for going on 6 years now--there was the small matter of his first crush ever--his best friend and former teammate, Yamazaki Sousuke. They’d grown up together, and even back before Rin knew what things like dating or sex was, really, he’d always liked Sousuke. Various things had split them apart for five years, but when Sousuke came back to Samezuka their senior year of high school, he brought Rin’s old kiddie crush back with him which quickly blew into a very real and intense crush. Being roommates for the better part of the year only made it worse. Then it turned out that Sousuke had a bad shoulder injury which blew all of Rin’s dreams of swimming with him out of the water. And even though Rin had waited and hoped that one day, Sousuke would show up again out of the blue, after graduation, he all but disappeared. And maybe because Rin never got closure, and maybe because that whole year had felt like they were bordering on something almost not quite there, now anytime Rin was out like this, surrounded by couples and alcohol and the very real possibility of a hook-up if he so wanted it, his mind always drifted back to Sousuke and how he was doing and where he was and who was he with now.

“Rei-chan, come up!” Nagisa shouted at Rei who looked scandalized.

“Absolutely not,” Rei said, pushing his glasses up his nose. “And you two come down,” he said. “Where did Makoto-san and Haruka-san go? Can you call them, Nagisa?”

“They can’t hear a phone in this music!” Nagisa shouted back at him. “Come up on the table! You can try to look for them up here!”

“Okay fine,” Rei said and took Nagisa’s hand.

But as Nagisa pulled Rei up, he backed into Rin who lost his balance and began toppling over.

Rin had one moment where he thought he better not break anything or he was going to be so pissed at Nagisa and that would be months of recovery depending on what exactly he injured and this would be such a stupid way to end his Olympic career--when he landed not on the hard ground, but in a pair of arms that caught him, wrapping around his chest, and holding him until Rin could straighten himself.

“Thanks,” Rin said automatically in Japanese.

He was surprised when the man answered back in the same language. “No problem.”

“You’re Japanese?” Rin said, staring at the guy he’d accidentally fallen on. Between the flashing lights and his alcohol-blurred vision, he couldn’t quite make out his face, but the man was definitely tall, dark, and probably handsome, Rin thought. Also, he had a really nice voice--deep and husky like velvet.

“What?” the man leaned in closer to Rin.

“I said you’re Japanese?” Rin repeated louder.

“Yeah,” the man said. He also smelled really good, Rin thought--heavily of alcohol like everyone else here, of course--but also some sort of cologne or detergent or something that made Rin think of those days in senior year where he and Sousuke were so comfortable with each other that he could reach for Sousuke’s shirt as easily as he could one of his own and Sousuke wouldn’t care. It was the same smell.

“What brings you here?” Rin asked.

“What?” the man asked.

Rin shoved up on his tiptoes to press his mouth by the man’s ear. “I said, what brings you here? To America?” His hands were on the man’s shoulders and he was just a tiny bit taller than Sousuke had been.

“Uh, business convention,” the man said. His lips brushed Rin’s hair, and Rin felt a big hand on his waist, keeping him upright. “What about you?” the man asked.

Beneath his fingers, even through the layers of cloth, Rin could feel strong muscle. This guy was seriously hot. Of course, his face might be hideous, but judging by the rest of him, Rin was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. “Reunion with some friends,” Rin said, overbalancing a little when he leaned in, so the man steadied him again. His biceps were huge. He had that perfect athlete’s body that Sousuke did also. “Are you an athlete?” Rin blurted out. He didn’t even feel that embarrassed thanks to the alcohol.

“Used to be,” the man said. “Back in high school.”

“Why did you quit?” Rin said. He felt just buzzed enough to jab him in the chest. “You should be a swimmer, you know. You’re definitely built for it. Butterfly stroke,” he declared.

The man laughed and pressed so close to him, Rin could feel the rumble through his chest. “I am so drunk,” he said, shaking his head.

Rin grinned. “So am I!” he shouted back.

“Cause you really remind me of someone,” he said.

“Who?” Rin asked.

“An old crush,” the man said and laughed again. It was also that deep laugh that Sousuke used to do when he was really truly amused at a joke Rin had just told him, or had just beat Rin at a video game and Rin was hitting him with a pillow.

“What? No way. You remind me of _my_ old crush,” Rin said. “In high school.”

“ _My_ crush was in high school,” the other man said.

“Oh yeah? You want to rock, paper, scissors for it?” Rin said automatically, vaguely aware it didn’t really make sense and drunk enough not to care.

“That’s exactly what my old crush used to say,” the man said, leaning in close again. “Can I kiss you?”

“Um,” Rin said. In the darkness of the club, he thought he could just make out the dark outline of the man’s eyelashes, and then he was being kissed. The stranger tasted like alcohol but his mouth was hot and firm and wet, and when he deepened the kiss, Rin wasn’t sure if it was just the alcohol making him go weak at the knees.

Rin felt huge hands run down his shoulderblades, tracing the curve of his spine. His skin was still flushed from heat and liquor, but every touch made him feel like he was burning up. The man’s destination became clear when his hands reached Rin’s ass, and Rin might have squeaked into the kiss.

He felt the man chuckle again, lips brushing against Rin’s. “You really do remind me of him,” he said. “He was really cute too, but he’d probably punch me if I said that to his face.”

“ _I’m_ going to punch you for saying that to my face,” Rin said. “It’s not flattering to be called cute.”

“You should be flattered, though,” the man said, pulling Rin in for another kiss. “He’s the most beautiful, talented, passionate person I know.” He chuckled again. “Not that I could say that to his face either.”

Rin wasn’t even this guy, and he could feel his face burning from the compliments. “You are a disgusting sap,” he told the man. “No wonder things didn’t work out with him. He couldn’t handle the cheesiness.”

The man chuckled and pulled Rin in close for another kiss.

Rin found himself leaning into the kiss and then tilting his head back when the man mouthed his way down Rin’s neck. He tangled his fingers in short, dark hair, feeling overly sensitive and very turned on. If this was the guy to break his no hook-up policy, Rin might actually not feel so much like human scum tomorrow morning.

Rin jumped when he felt hands fingering the waistline of his suddenly too-tight jeans.

“Can we?” the man asked, looking up at Rin and for the first time that night, Rin actually saw a clear glimpse of his eyes. He couldn’t tell the color of them in this lighting but they were clear and his eyelashes were dark and long, and Rin could absolutely imagine his eyes that turquoise shade of tropical ocean.

Rin swallowed hard. “I don’t normally do this one-night-stand thing,” he said.

The man’s shoulder slumped and his hands began sliding off Rin’s waist.

Rin wondered what Sousuke was doing now--what he’d think if he knew his childhood best friend was seriously considering hooking up with his doppelganger. But Rin hadn’t seen Sousuke in six years, and since his chances of sleeping with the real Sousuke were probably beyond a negative percentage at this point, and of all the clubs he could have wandered into in Vegas, he was just lucky enough to end up in the one that happened to contain a Sousuke look-alike--as close to the real thing as he was likely to ever get…

Rin took a deep breath. “But for you, I’ll make an exception.”

He felt the hands at his waist tighten again, and then the man actually backed him into a group of perturbed girls with the enthusiasm he put into his next kiss, devouring. “Good,” he said, voice deep, and Rin shuddered at the promise in it.

He thought he should maybe be a little more cautious--a little more worried about letting a stranger pull him into the nearest men’s restroom--but this was the first time he had met someone as similar and as hot as Sousuke--and Rin was drunk and allowed to have a little ill-advised fun every once in awhile.

After graduation, Rin had kept in contact at first. Sousuke was traveling for awhile to clear his head and think things through, though, and between spotty technology at some of the truly bizarre places Sousuke had gone, and Rin’s own increasingly busy schedule, by the time a year had passed, they’d fallen out of touch again. Rin still had Sousuke’s old contact saved on his phone, but so much time had gone past that he wasn’t sure it even still worked. If he was entirely honest, Rin was a little afraid that Sousuke had found someone by now and was most likely settled down with some nice girl. Rin wasn’t exactly eager for the reality of that to set in.

So although it was disgusting and far from Rin’s ideal location for his first time, he was unlikely to get another chance like this again, so he let the man lock them into a tiny restroom stall.

“Why the hell is it so dark in here?” Rin said, dragging the man’s shirt from where it was neatly tucked into his business trousers. Although the lights were no longer flashing in the restroom, it was still dark enough that he couldn’t get a clear look at his soon-to-be hook-up’s face.

“To set the mood?” the man said, laughing against Rin’s throat and pressing another kiss there.

It took far too long for Rin to get the man’s belt loosened. “There is no such thing as mood when we’re fucking in the men’s room--” He broke off in a gasp, all thoughts flying out of his mind when the man suddenly bit down on his throat and pleasure shot up Rin’s spine. “Fuck,” he breathed.

The man chuckled against the sore spot, and then Rin felt his hands fumbling with his zipper, and cool air. “How the hell did you get these on?” the man cursed, trying to drag Rin’s jeans down. “Can you even move in these?”

“Did you not see me dancing?” Rin said. “Anyway, they make my ass look fantastic,” he said and grinned when the man glanced up at him.

The man snorted. “Well, that part’s true anyway,” he said. He gave up once Rin’s jeans and boxers had reached his knees.

Rin’s head fell against the man’s broad shoulder when a huge hand closed around his cock, and it was embarrassing how close Rin was to coming just from that. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he said, hands grasping at the man’s shoulders, catching on the cloth of the button-up shirt.

“It’s been awhile, huh,” the man said. Rin could feel his smile at his ear.

Rin wasn’t about to let him know that it hadn’t just been awhile, but was maybe the first time anyone had ever touched him down there apart from himself.

The man reached up again to thumb Rin’s nipple, and Rin was entirely aware he was starting to make some really embarrassing noises, but he couldn’t seem to stop. To distract himself he began unbuttoning the man’s shirt, and when buttons proved too complicated for his alcohol-addled mind, he gave up and yanked.

Small buttons clattered against the walls of the stall.

“Huh? What?” Rin stiffened when a voice came from what sounded like several stalls down.

“There’s someone in here!” Rin hissed.

“It’s a public restroom,” the man said. “We’re drunk. That guy’s probably drunk. No one cares.”

“I am not letting you fuck me in pub--” Rin’s protest broke off in another gasp when the man wrapped his hand around Rin’s cock and gave a slow pull.

“You’re so hot,” the man said and kissed him again like he was trying to map Rin’s mouth. He could feel that hand, hot around his cock, and it felt like all of his nerves were concentrated there.

“I’m going to--I’m going to--”

Rin almost cried with frustration when suddenly the hand was gone, and instead the man had backed up to fumble in his trouser pockets. Rin had his first good look of the man’s body, white dress shirt open, and even in the dim light, Rin could see the shadowed outlines of hard muscle with the sort of pecs and abs that really could rival Sousuke’s. In fact, although Rin felt a little like a traitor for thinking it, this man was possibly more toned than Sousuke was because Sousuke had still been just eighteen the last time Rin saw him. The man in front of him was all grown man like maybe how Sousuke might look now. Rin swallowed the hard lump in his throat.

The man pulled out a condom and a small package of lube from his wallet.

“Wow, you had that all ready to go,” Rin said and raised an eyebrow. “Pick up strangers in clubs often, do you?”

The man chuckled. “First time, actually,” he said. “So hopefully this isn’t too old.” He waved the packet of lube.

Rin found himself being manhandled until his elbows were pressed against the cold walls of the stall, and he heard the slide of fabric and a thick finger was probing him. Rin felt his breathing speed up and tried to relax, but the man seemed to sense Rin’s nervousness and Rin felt broad hands run down his sides, soothing.

“Hey, we don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” the man said, his voice a rumble in Rin’s ear.

Like this, caged in this stranger’s arms, Rin should feel nervous, cautious, wary--but he didn’t. Maybe it was because he reminded Rin so much of Sousuke, his body, his build, his voice, his laugh, the playful banter--Rin felt comfortable with him, like he was falling right back into an old rhythm. If he couldn’t have Sousuke, he could at least have this.

Rin turned just enough to press their lips together and then licked into the stranger’s mouth, filthy and wanting. He felt those arms around him tighten. The thick finger came back, circled the rim once, and then pushed inside and Rin’s head fell back against the man’s neck. “Oh fuck,” he cursed. “That feels a lot thicker than your fingers look.”

The man laughed.

“Don’t you dare say one word about the size of your dick in comparison,” Rin warned him.

“Okay, okay.” Rin felt him press kisses down Rin’s neck and bare shoulder, relaxing him as he began to move that finger. His other hand wrapped around Rin’s cock, and when he added a second finger, Rin’s eyes fluttered shut. He could imagine Sousuke doing this to him--had imagined Sousuke doing this--leaning over him with his crooked half-smile, those beautiful eyes, rocking into him. And with his eyes shut and this man’s body and voice and scent all so similar, it was too easy to replace the blurry face with Sousuke’s handsome familiar one all strong defined features and planes. Too easy to imagine it was Sousuke pressing that third finger inside, crooking it to hit that spot that had Rin sobbing for more. Too easy to imagine it was Sousuke’s dick pressing into him until it felt like he couldn’t breath.

“You’re fucking huge,” Rin said before he could stop himself and felt Sousuke laugh behind him, heat all down his back.

“So you’re allowed to make size comparisons about my dick?” he said.

“Yes,” Rin answered and rocked back into him, and Sousuke felt good--so good--just tall enough that they fit together seamlessly like this--and every time he plunged in again, he wrung another gasp out of Rin, unable to help it.

Sousuke shifted behind him, pulling Rin’s chin up with a rough hand and kissing him, sloppy, and then started to fuck Rin with abandon, hitting that spot inside him every time. Rin’s thighs ached from being spread, feeling too full and too hot, his dick painfully hard but his hands braced against the wall so he couldn’t touch himself. He could feel the heat coiled in him, building with each hard thrust.

“I’m going to--I’m-- _yes_ \--” Rin’s voice broke off in a gasp with each new thrust, and he could feel the soft paint peeling beneath his fingernails where they scraped the wall.

Then the man wrapped a hand around Rin’s cock and in two strokes, Rin was gone, a white sheet of pleasure rushing through him as he collapsed against the wall.

“That was...that was way better than I expected,” the other man said after a moment. Rin could hear both their ragged breathing, echoing in the bathroom.

“I feel kind of offended,” Rin said, wincing a little as the man slid out of him and began tying up the condom.

“No, I just mean...for someone not him,” the man said. He sighed, tossing the used condom in the bin. “You are so much like him.”

Rin began to grin. “You totally imagined I was him just now, didn’t you,” he said.

“I--”

“You did. Admit it,” Rin said and prodded him in the ribs. “ _I_ did,” he said. “Imagine my old crush,” he clarified.

“Now I feel offended,” the man said.

Rin couldn’t help laughing and it turned contagious until they were both laughing in that tiny bathroom stall. Once he’d finally calmed enough to stop, Rin shakily straightened himself and pulled the man in by the collar of his shirt to kiss him again.

Then he let go and began pulling his jeans back on. The other man also dressed himself again, and it was going to be absolutely obvious what they were just doing with the man’s ripped shirt and Rin’s complete lack of one.

“So...is that it?” the man said slowly.

Rin grinned and reached for the stall door, feeling brave. He might not have Sousuke, but for at least a night, he could pretend. “I was the best hook-up of your life. Are you going to buy me a drink or what?” he said.

He tangled his fingers with the man’s hand, and he heard the man laugh, hand tightening around Rin’s before they rejoined the club.

 

* * *

 

Rin woke to the worst headache of his entire life and was convinced he was dying.

“I’m getting too old for this,” he muttered as he tried to untangle himself from the mess of sheets on a truly huge bed. He needed water. And maybe to puke up as much alcohol as he could. This was the worst idea ever. He was going to kill Nagisa if he didn’t die first.

In his search for the edge of the bed, Rin found, instead, a sun-tanned arm thrown over the white sheets leading up to an equally tan, broad chest, and then bits of memory started coming back. His ill-advised hook-up who reminded him so much of Sousuke. Having even more drinks after the sex. Rin vaguely remembered stumbling out of the club, trying his best to kiss every inch of the man he’d convinced himself by then was Sousuke. He didn’t remember actually fucking again in this hotel room, but judging by the state of the sheets, they’d definitely done that.

Come to think of it, this hotel room wasn’t familiar at all.

Rin looked around until he located several bottles of water lying haphazardly on the nightstand on his side of the bed. He wasn’t sure who had enough foresight to gather all those bottles of water the night before, but he was grateful. He drank all of an entire one and felt a little more human again.

Sipping at his second bottle of water, he slowly edged his leg over--there were goddamn hickeys on his _legs_ \--he wouldn’t be able to swim for at least a week--and prodded the man with his foot.

Sunlight was coming through the windows not directly on the bed but still bright enough that it didn’t help Rin’s headache.

“Hey,” Rin said and prodded a little harder.

The man grunted.

“Wake up,” Rin said. If he nudged any harder, he’d be actually kicking the man.

“Five more minutes,” the man mumbled.

“God, you’re as hard to wake up in the mornings as Sousuke,” Rin muttered. He took another sip of water. “Wake up. I’m leaving,” he said.

“Where am I?” the man grunted and Rin felt him shift on the bed, still hidden behind the tangle of sheets.

“Your hotel room, I think,” Rin said. “It’s not mine anyway.” He reached over for another bottle of water and tossed it to him.

“Why’re you leaving?” the man asked, sounding confused. He paused. “Who are you?”

“Your amazing one-night-stand,” Rin said dryly. “Remember? You said I reminded you of your old crush, and you reminded me of my old crush so…”

Rin’s words died in his mouth when the man finally sat up and Rin got his first good look at him. His analysis the night before had been right. The man looked like and sounded like and smelled like and acted like Sousuke because--

“Sousuke?” Rin gaped.

Sousuke--a 24-year-old, grown, sleep-tousled, and equally shocked-looking Sousuke--stared back at him. “Rin?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I try to keep trashier fics on my trash blog but this got just long enough that it would be too hard to read on tumblr so here it is instead. Oneshot probably but you can kind of imagine the freak out that happens next lol


	2. Chapter 2

Rin stared across the giant hotel bed at a 24-year-old Yamazaki Sousuke, and the events of last night began to come back to him all too fast--falling quite literally into Sousuke’s arms after Nagisa elbowed him off the bar counter, letting Sousuke take him into the men’s room for a quick fuck against a wall, making Sousuke buy him at least four drinks that he could remember, telling Sousuke that he looked just like his high school crush-- _telling Sousuke that he looked just like Rin’s high school crush_.

“Oh my god,” Rin said. “We--last night--I had a one night stand with you.”

“Rin?” Sousuke said, hooded eyes blinking slowly.

“You fucked me in a bathroom stall,” Rin said. “I _let_ you fuck me in a bathroom stall.”

Sousuke lay back down, disappearing behind the tangled sheets.

“Do you do this a lot? What the hell are you even doing in Las Vegas? I haven’t seen you in _six years_ and of all places, you’re here! In a nightclub! I should have known it was you!” Rin said--that voice, that laugh, that smell. But he never dreamed he’d run into Sousuke halfway across the world in a nightclub. “What the _fuck_?”

Sousuke was being entirely too quiet about this all, and when Rin finally got up the courage to edge a little closer--and damn, whatever they’d done back at the hotel room last night was leaving Rin sore in places he hadn’t even known he could be sore in--he saw that Sousuke was staring at the ceiling with a small frown on his face. “This is the weirdest dream,” he mumbled.

Rin felt his eye twitch. “This isn’t a dream!” he grabbed the closest thing he could reach--a pillow--and threw it at him.

Sousuke just squinted back over at him. “Your hair is so messy,” he said.

“Excuse you, that’s what I look like when you’ve fucked me all night and I’m hungover, you asshole!” Rin said, and he could feel his face heating up as he ran a hand through his hair, which was, indeed, clumped together in sweaty strands. He had never been more in need of a shower.

And suddenly, the full weight of what they’d done hit him. Of all the nightclubs he could have stumbled into halfway across the world, it was the one with Yamazaki Sousuke in it. And Rin had been just drunk enough to consider and follow through with a hook-up. He had--entirely by accident--slept with his childhood best friend and crush going on over a decade now. He had accidentally slept with Yamazaki Sousuke in a fit of drunken nostalgia, and more importantly, any minute now, Sousuke was going to completely wake up from his stupid dopey morning doze and realize it.

It took all of his willpower to force himself out of the bed and upright. Ignoring his throbbing head, Rin put on whatever pieces of clothing he could find--pants, shirt, shoes. It turned out he had nothing to worry about. By the time he was dressed, Sousuke had turned over on his stomach and was asleep again, mouth half-open and drooling on a pillow.

“I can’t believe you fell asleep,” Rin said.

The sun shone through the curtains just enough to light the bed a warm cream, highlighting Sousuke’s tan skin and broad shoulders. The right one looked as unblemished as the left--none of the angry red swelling or hard lines left from the black brace that Rin had been accustomed to seeing the last time they spoke.

As he watched, Sousuke let out a half snore, and Rin felt an affectionate warmth spread through his chest.

Six years of silence, and out of the blue, here he was. What were the chances of sleeping with his childhood first love the first time Rin finally decided to throw caution to the wind and have a one-night-stand?

He bit his lip. It had been six years.

Watching carefully to make sure Sousuke didn’t wake up, Rin edged over to the complimentary notepad left on the nightstand. He scribbled down his number--the same one he’d kept for the last six years--and, before he could think better of it, added “xoxo call me.”

Then he fled the room.

 

* * *

 

It wasn’t until Rin got a block away that he realized he had no idea where he was going, and had to scroll through his phone to call Nagisa.

“...Rin?” It was Rei who picked up. He sounded about as hungover as Rin felt.

“I don’t remember which hotel was ours,” Rin said. “Get Nagisa to come pick me up.”

“Where are you?” Rei asked.

Rin looked around himself. “The Mandalay, I think,” he said. He heard a muffled groan in the background. “Also tell Nagisa I’m going to kill him when I see him.”

“We’ll be there in a few minutes,” Rei said and hung up.

It was nearing noon and the late summer heat was already rising. Rin stood on the sidewalk for three minutes before he gave in and sat down by the curb. Las Vegas wasn’t like most other big cities that was full of bustling businessmen and women in the daytime. Vegas was an all night city--coming alive only when the sun set, and almost empty at this time of day--which worked out for Rin because it meant far fewer people could see his walk of shame.

Rin began buttoning up the shirt he’d pulled on, and then realized it wasn’t his own shirt, but the one that Sousuke had been wearing the night before--the one Rin had torn half the buttons off of. Rin groaned and tugged the shirt around him a little tighter in an attempt to make it look like he’d buttoned it. All it did was bring up a waft of Sousuke’s smell from the fabric.

Rin wasn’t sure if his face was burning from the late morning heat rising from the asphalt, or from the jumbled memories playing through his mind.

A moment later, an extremely tousled Rei was the one who came out of a taxi.

“You look like shit,” Rin told him as they piled back into the taxi.

Rei didn’t even have the energy to properly protest, just giving Rin a disgruntled look. “So do you,” he said, all usual politeness dropped in favor of an obvious hangover. “That’s not your shirt,” he added.

Rin ignored him and shut his eyes, glad it was Rei picking him up because he could trust Rei to get them back wherever they were supposed to be.

 

* * *

 

Rin woke to a giggle, whispering, and some far less innocent noises.

“Ugh, you two better not be making out over there,” Rin said, eyes still shut and fishing until he found a pillow to throw in the general direction of the other bed. “You promised you wouldn’t do anything if I shared a room with you.”

“I told you, Nagisa,” Rin heard Rei hiss.

“It’s not like Rin-chan didn’t get pretty busy himself last night,” Nagisa said.

Rin heard a thump and then his own bed creak as someone climbed on it.

“One…” Rin felt cold fingers prod his neck. “Two...three...four…”

“What are you doing,” he mumbled into the wad of comforter he’d buried his face in.

“Counting hickeys,” Nagisa said. “Five...six...seven…” He pulled on Rin’s shirt until the collar slipped down. “Eight..nine…wow, these go down really far,” Nagisa said gleefully. “Hey, this isn’t the shirt you went out in last night.”

“ _Nagisa!_ ” Rin said and threw him off the bed when he rolled over. He scowled at Nagisa who was pouting at him from the floor, and Rei who was standing by an open luggage case, apparently having taken the opportunity to get properly dressed.

“So who was tall, dark, and handsome last night?” Nagisa said, wiggling his eyebrows and looking entirely too awake and chipper for the way Rin felt right now.

“None of your business,” Rin said, sitting up and scowling at nothing in particular. “Water,” he said until Rei tossed him a bottle of water.

Since the weekend Nagisa had chosen for their reunion happened to be a particularly busy one at the end of the summer tourist season, nearly all the rooms had been booked and he’d only been able to snag two. This meant Rin got his choice of rooming with either Makoto and Haru, or Nagisa and Rei. Rin couldn’t decide which was the lesser of two horrifyingly affectionate couples, but as soon as they’d arrived at the hotel, Haru had immediately locked himself and Makoto into one of them, making up Rin’s mind for him. If Rin didn’t feel like complete shit right now, he would have seriously considered pounding on their door until Makoto let him in.

Nagisa bounced back onto his bed, ignoring all of Rin’s attempts to ignore him. “I’m so happy for you! You’ve been single for forever and I thought you were never going to get over Sou-chan--”

Rin choked and coughed water all over Nagisa.

“Eww, Rin-chan,” Nagisa pouted.

Rei let out a long-suffering sigh and returned from the bathroom with a towel that he handed over.

“I was _not_ dating--” He took a deep breath. “I was not dating Sousuke,” Rin forced the words out, aware his face had gone a flaming red.

“Yeah, but you were waiting to,” Nagisa said. “So? Did you get his number?”

“Number?” Rin said.

“Tall-dark-and-handsome,” Nagisa said. “Did you get his number? You obviously went home with him. You went all the way, right? Finally?”

Rin sputtered. “That’s none of your business!”

“You _did!_ ” Nagisa said, both eyes and grin widening as he leaned forward. Rin scrambled back. “How was it? Your first time didn’t hurt too much, did it? Yay! Rin-chan isn’t a virgin anymore! Even though it wasn’t with Sou-chan,” he added.

“ _Nagisa!_ ” Rin said. He didn’t even want to know how he was keeping track of Rin’s sex life from a whole other continent.

“Nagisa, please, it’s…” Rei looked at his watch. “Okay, it’s two in the afternoon, but still too early for this.”

Nagisa bounced off the bed again. “Fine, then I want breakfast,” he declared. “Let’s go find Mako-chan and Haru-chan!”

“I'm going to shower,” Rin said.

Nagisa gave an exaggerated sigh. “Fine,” he said. “But you better not call tall-dark-and-handsome without me.”

“I don’t have his number!” Rin said. “I’m not going to call him! And if I did, why the hell would I do it with you?”

Nagisa just raised an eyebrow. “We’ll be downstairs when you’re ready!” he sang, and with another entirely too bright grin, dragged Rei out the door with him.

Rin groaned and rolled out of bed, heading for the shower.

Once he’d relaxed under the hot spray of water, he began regretting everything he had ever done in his entire life that had led him up to this point. There were few decisions Rin had made that he’d regretted quite this much--the first was the whole series of events leading up to the dark times in Australia when he was in middle school. The second was somehow managing to live with and go totally moon-eyed over Sousuke for a whole semester without confronting him about his secrets. Rin had noticed the secrets, but he hadn’t been particularly eager to force Sousuke into confessing them for a very simple reason. He’d tried to force Sousuke into doing something for Rin before, and the botched relay almost caused them to stop being friends. When Sousuke came back in high school, and with him, Rin’s even stronger feelings, Rin couldn’t bring himself to push for fear of losing Sousuke again. That had backfired spectacularly come regionals.

Of course, he never dreamed back then that sleeping with Sousuke six years later would be his third big regret. The fourth was leaving that note on Sousuke’s bedside table.

What if Sousuke called? What was Rin supposed to say? Oh, I realized I had head-banging sex with my best friend after not seeing him for six years, but you fell asleep, and I didn’t know what to do so I gave you my number and left?

What if Sousuke didn’t call?

So although Rin tried not to think about it, he still found his heart leaping in his chest every time he saw another tall, dark-haired man on his way down to the restaurant.

“Let’s get out of the city,” Rin said when he joined the other four having extremely late brunch. Although Rei looked about as much like death as Rin did, the other three looked entirely too normal. Makoto and Haru had probably even gone to bed at a decent hour.

“And go where?” Rei said, looking like he was about to face-plant into his plate of pancakes. “There’s nothing else here.”

“There’s got to be other interesting places to go,” Rin said. “Isn’t the Grand Canyon close by?”

Rei snorted. “If by close by, you mean a four-hour drive,” he said. “And none of us has a car.”

“We’ll find somewhere closer then,” Rin said.

Nagisa leaned forward in his seat, stealing one of Rei’s pancakes. “Why do you want to leave?” he asked. “Don’t you want to see Mr. Tall-dark-and-handsome?” His smile was sunshine and innocence. “Are you trying to avoid him because he’s not Sou-chan?”

Nagisa was far too perceptive, and Rin was never going to tell him that Mr. Tall-dark-and-handsome had accidentally turned out to be Mr. Yamazaki.

Makoto and Haru both swiveled to stare at Rin.

“ _No_ ,” Rin snapped, ignoring them. “There’s nothing else to do here during the day.”

“I want to go to the pool,” Haru said, which was entirely unsurprising.

“Are you sure you’re okay with that, Rin-chan?” Nagisa asked.

If Rin hadn’t been on the receiving end of so many of Nagisa’s pouts before, he would have flipped him off. “Fine. Pool then,” he said instead.

Rin regretted the decision almost immediately when he realized he couldn’t actually go swimming without the entire world seeing the bruises Sousuke had left all over his body. Even Haru looked briefly surprised when Rin came down fully dressed and didn’t challenge him to a race.

“I’m still hung over,” Rin muttered and parked himself under a beach umbrella with his phone and the trade novel he’d picked up at the airport. He’d gotten halfway through the book on the plane, and was determined to finish the rest this afternoon if just to take his mind off certain things.

It took about twenty minutes for him to get into it because watching Haru swim made him itch to do it too. Makoto ended up surrounded by small children all wanting to play with him in the pool, and every time Rin looked up, he could see Haru watching Makoto with an openly fond look on his face. Two hours in, Rei had joined Makoto with the kids, and Nagisa declared he wanted to go into the casinos.

Rei and Makoto both gave Rin pointed looks because Rin was the only one not in the water. Rin absolutely agreed that Nagisa needed supervision because who knew how much money he was going to cheat out of those dealers, but wandering around also meant the possibility of running into Sousuke increased. Rin felt a little ill just thinking about it, so he pointedly buried his face in his book.

In the end, Makoto got out of the pool to go with Nagisa, saying he wanted to catch up with him anyway, and the two headed inside.

By the time it was six and they all headed up to their rooms to dress for dinner, Rin had ten pages left to read and had gone from dreading the conversation to offended and a little hurt. He'd left Sousuke his number--if Sousuke wanted to see him again, he would have called, which meant that he didn't want to see Rin again. The thought of that made Rin a little sad but mostly kind of angry--he'd waited six years for him, he'd lost his virginity to him, and if none of that made any difference, they'd been best friends for the first two decades of their lives--Rin felt he at least deserved a phone call.

“Dinner’s my treat today!” Nagisa announced when Rin and Rei came back into the room.

“How much did you con out of them?” Rin asked.

Nagisa pouted. “I didn’t con anything,” he said. “It’s a casino--I gambled.”

“How much?” Rei asked.

Nagisa beamed at him. “You really want to know, Rei-chan?”

Rei gave Rin a pained look. “Nevermind,” he said.

Nagisa laughed and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Get dressed! I heard of a nice place from Jim-chan.”

“Who’s Jim?” Rei asked.

“A businessman I was playing blackjack with,” Nagisa said. “And there’s a club near there too.”

Rin felt his pulse spike at the mention of clubs again. “Which one?” he asked, hoping he sounded casual.

Nagisa turned toward him, smiling. “Why? Did you want to go back to the same one as yesterday, Rin-chan?”

Rin glared at him, and tried to will his blush away. “Why would I want to do that?”

“Mr. Tall-dark-and-handsome,” Nagisa sang. “If you didn’t get his number…”

“I didn’t!” Rin said.

Nagisa threw himself on Rin, hugging him around the middle. “It’s okay, Rin-chan, I’ll help you find him again!”

“Please don’t!” Rin said a little too quickly because Nagisa narrowed his eyes at him.

“Rin-chan,” he said.

“What,” Rin said.

“ _Rin-chan_ ,” Nagisa repeated.

“What,” Rin said, determined not to cave.

“What aren’t you telling me?” Nagisa asked, standing back and folding his arms.

“Nothing,” Rin said. “I had a one-night-stand with a guy. Once. There’s nothing to tell,” he lied.

“Stop harassing Rin-san,” Rei said, and Rin internally praised every god he knew for Rei. Rei was a gift--first that giant favor back during regionals their second year. Now for putting a leash on his horrible boyfriend.

Nagisa looked between Rei and Rin. “Fine,” he said. “But we’ll go back to the same club as last night. Okay, Rin-chan?”

“It has nothing to do with me,” Rin said, ignoring the little leap his stomach gave at the thought of dark sweating bodies, flashing lights, and a deep, velvet voice in his ear. His phone hadn’t rang all day.

 

* * *

 

Sousuke wasn’t there.

Rin had followed Nagisa into the club determined to not look for Sousuke, but it had been a whole hour, and Rin had worked his way around the room twice now, and while there were plenty of tall, dark-haired men, none of them was Sousuke. The club was just as dark with the flashing lights as the night before, but while Rin hadn’t really recognized Sousuke the night before, he could definitely tell who wasn’t Sousuke. Even the few times he found a man around the same height and build, all it took was a greeting before Rin realized the voice was wrong or the smell was off or any one of those things.

Sousuke wasn’t here, and from being annoyed, Rin was alarmed to find himself quickly spiraling into disappointed. Sousuke had said something about being here for a business convention--he could very well have left already. If he was in a hurry, he might not even have seen Rin's note. He was seriously beginning to wish he had gotten Sousuke’s number instead of leaving his own.

By the time two hours had passed, Rin had made his way through the club five times--not an easy feat considering how crowded it was.

“I’m heading back first,” Rin said to Rei when it hit midnight and Sousuke still hadn’t showed up.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Rei shouted in his ear, just loud enough over the blaring bass.

“No it’s fine. But keep it in your pants when you and Nagisa get back,” Rin said.

“Rin-san, we wouldn’t--that’s not--”

Rin laughed at his sputtering and made his way out of the club.

 

* * *

 

 

Rin woke to the insistent vibrating of his phone and he winced, squinting around the hotel room. He was still fully dressed, lying on his bed with the television droning on some movie he’d long since stopped watching. The lights were still on, and the bed next to his was still empty. He squinted at the clock--it was nearly 3 in the morning.

The phone vibrated again and Rin groaned, answering it as he tried to bury himself deeper in his pillow.

“‘llo?” he said.

“I uh...I...I’m the guy from last night?”

It took Rin a few moments to process the deep voice over the phone and then he jerked upright. “Sousuke?” he asked.

“I tried to look for you at the club,” Sousuke said. His speech was slow and very deliberate like he was trying to enunciate. “You weren’t there.”

Rin felt his face go red. “I, um, I left early,” he said.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t,” Sousuke said. “I shouldn’t have called. It’s late.”

“What? No!” Rin said a little too quickly. “I...I was hoping...um, you looked for me at the club?”

“You want to come over?” Sousuke asked.

Rin had a very short internal debate in which the thought of seeing Sousuke again bashed his pride into submission. “I...okay,” he said. “What’s your room number?”

Sousuke rattled off a number, and then paused. “I uh...I guess I’ll see you soon?”

“Yeah,” Rin said and hung up.

He sat for a moment in bed. He was going to see Sousuke again. Sousuke had been looking for him at the club too. He wasn't sure why Sousuke hadn't just called him to begin with since he'd clearly used Rin's number later, but that could wait for later. He jumped out of bed, suddenly feeling a lot more awake. He was still wearing the same clothes as he had earlier that night, but if he and Sousuke were going to talk about last night, he wanted to look as good as possible. He didn’t have time to shower so he washed his face and ran the blow-dryer through his hair. He re-dressed in a fresh shirt and tight pair of jeans--he remembered how Sousuke had enjoyed that the night before. He pulled his favorite necklace over his neck to complete the outfit, grabbed his phone and key card, and left before he could second guess himself.

The taxi ride over to The Mandalay seemed far longer than it had been to leave it earlier that day.

Rin wasn’t sure he was ready to have the conversation with Sousuke. How exactly were you supposed to talk about accidentally sleeping with your childhood best friend you hadn’t seen in six years? And if they talked about it, would anything change? They were living completely different lives now--Rin didn’t even know what Sousuke did.

By the time Rin was in front of Sousuke’s hotel room, he’d rehearsed the exact inflection he should use to say “hi” a dozen times. But when the door swung open, his throat went dry at the sight of Sousuke. He really was taller than Rin remembered, and his features were just slightly more defined than they had been at eighteen. He was dressed in a button-up white shirt again, tie loose, and Rin suddenly found himself developing an attraction to business casual wear.

Sousuke’s blue eyes went wide at the sight of him, and he gave Rin that familiar half-grin. “Damn, you really look just like Rin,” he said.

Rin had one moment to think that was an odd thing to say before Sousuke dragged him inside, and suddenly Rin was being pinned against the door and his mouth was occupied by a hot tongue. He could taste alcohol and he hadn't had a drink all night.

“Wait--wait,” Rin said, trying to pull himself away from Sousuke. They needed to talk about this, but it was really hard to concentrate when Sousuke was nipping at his lips like that.

“What’s wrong?” Sousuke pulled back and Rin found himself pinned by eyes the familiar shade of blue he could now see and not just imagine from last night. He swallowed and saw Sousuke’s gaze dart down from Rin’s eyes to his throat, and abruptly, he was sucking a line down Rin’s jaw, and Rin’s knees went weak.

They could talk later.

Rin wasn’t entirely sure how he lost all his clothes somewhere between the door and the bed, but by the time he was tripping over the edge of the bed, he was totally naked. His skin felt like burning even in the cool AC of the room.

Sousuke smiled, fingers brushing the pendant necklace around Rin’s neck--the only thing he had left on him. “Rin has one just like this,” he said. “It was his favorite.”

“What are you talking about?” Rin said, and got distracted all over again when Sousuke kissed him again. Sousuke kissed with the intensity of a drowning man grasping for the shore, and it left Rin dizzy with want. He'd always thought nothing could beat the rush of swimming, but being with Sousuke--like this--was beginning to change his mind.

Sousuke leaned back, one knee straddling the bed, and frowned as he fumbled at the buttons of his shirt. “Ah, fuck,” he cursed when his fingers slipped again, and Rin decided he’d waited long enough.

He reached up and yanked. Buttons went flying across the room. “Better,” Rin said. “Hurry up.”

Sousuke sighed and shrugged off the shirt. “I’m going to run out of shirts at this rate,” he said.

Rin grinned. “It’s worth it, isn’t it?” he said, raising an eyebrow and lay back, letting Sousuke’s knee nudge between his legs.

Sousuke swallowed, eyes blazing a trail down Rin’s naked body, and Rin wasn’t even doing anything particularly seductive. “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah it is.”

Sousuke reached over his head to yank his undershirt off, leaving his hair tousled in the wake. Rin was glad he wasn’t drunk this time, because he could fully appreciate Sousuke’s defined abs as Rin ran his fingers down the skin. Sousuke shivered.

“Good to know you haven’t been skimping on the gym,” Rin said.

Sousuke grinned and leaned down to kiss him.

Rin had imagined a thousand times what kissing Sousuke would be like, but in his imagination, it had always been maybe a little awkward, a little tender--nothing like the way Sousuke’s huge hand was spread along Rin’s jaw, the hot press of his mouth devouring Rin’s until it felt like he couldn’t breath. Sousuke began sucking a trail down his neck, mapping Rin’s skin with his fingers like he was trying to touch every inch of him. Rin vaguely thought he should be doing something other than just lying there and writhing under Sousuke’s firm touch, but he couldn’t, for the life of him, control his own body.

Then Sousuke’s hands were at his waist, and Rin was suddenly being flipped over, ass in the air. He had a second of confused disorientation before he felt Sousuke lick a stripe of heat up his thigh.

Rin had one stunned moment of realization. “You’re not--”

And then Sousuke’s tongue was there--wet and hot, tracing a ring around his entrance, and Rin lost his mind. His back arched, fingers clenching the sheets so hard his palms ached, unsure if he wanted to pull away or press back, but unable to do either because Sousuke’s hands were a clamp around his hips.

“Sou--” Rin broke off in a wail when Sousuke stuck his tongue inside. For the next few seconds or next few years, Rin was caught in the shrieking heat inside him like ice so cold it burned. By the time Sousuke drew back, he was panting like he’d just raced, and he wasn’t sure if his heart had ever beat so fast.

“Sousuke…” His voice came out more breathless than he wanted to admit. Sousuke’s hovering warmth was suddenly gone then, and when Rin turned back to look, Sousuke was smearing complimentary hotel lotion all over his hands. “That’s what you're going to use?” he said.

“I wasn’t expecting to do this again,” Sousuke said. “Sorry, I can go buy lube or something if you really want.” In complete contrast to his words, he was looking at Rin with a face that clearly said he really really hoped Rin wouldn’t make him.

Just for that, Rin was tempted to insist. He flipped back over onto his back and gestured for Sousuke to come back to the bed. “I’ll janken you for it--if you win, you can use the lotion.”

Sousuke smiled, far too wide and happy for something as stupid as this, and readied his fist. “Rock...paper...scissors...shoot!”

“I win,” Rin said.

“Damnit,” Sousuke said and wiped the lotion all over the sheets. The maids weren’t going to be happy about that, Rin thought.

“Get lube and a condom and I’ll think about letting you put it in tomorrow,” Rin said, laughing as he pulled Sousuke close and kissed him.

Sousuke gave a strangled groan when Rin nipped his bottom lip, and Rin found himself being flipped back onto his front again. “It’s a promise,” Sousuke growled in his ear.

Rin had played jankenpon with Sousuke hundreds of times. They'd made thousand of promises to each other--some more trivial than others--none of them had ever turned him on so much before.

“If I can't put it in, tighten up for me,” Sousuke said.

"What?" For a moment, Rin was confused when instead of prying his legs apart, Sousuke pressed his thighs together.

Then he felt Sousuke’s cock, huge and hot, slide up against Rin’s own. Rin gave a small, involuntary rut back against him, and felt Sousuke's body pressed all over his own. He'd seen Sousuke's dick dozens of times in the locker room, and he knew Sousuke was big, but it still felt bigger clasped between his thighs like this. The drag of his cock, hot against Rin’s own, was almost enough to make Rin come, and he found himself pushing back against Sousuke, letting Sousuke rock into him slowly and then faster, and wondering vaguely if it was possible to get addicted to sex because he wasn’t sure jerking himself off was going to be enough after this. For one moment, Rin thought about how he'd be going back to Japan in two days, about whether he’d ever see Sousuke again after this, what he was going to do, and they had to talk about this because Rin wasn’t sure he could--much less wanted to--go back to years of silence or platonic friendship or whatever it was going on between them.

Then Sousuke’s arm snaked around his waist. His hand wrapped around Rin’s dick, and Rin was being plowed into the sheets from behind, completely pinned by Sousuke and unable to do anything but move to the rhythm he was setting from both behind and in front.

"Rin," Sousuke said, deep in his ear, and Rin came undone, arching back into Sousuke as he came.

For one long, drawn out moment, he felt Sousuke still rutting furiously between his legs, and then he stiffened and nearly flattened Rin when he slumped over him, panting and sweaty.

Rin was too breathless to do anything but lie there, trying to catch his breath for a moment. Then the heat got to be too much and he wriggled until he could move from under Sousuke’s dead weight.

He took a deep breath. “Sousuke…” he said, slowly turning to his side until he could face Sousuke. His arm was heavy but loose around Rin. “Sousuke, we need to talk,” he said, wincing a little at how cliche the words sounded. He was too nervous to look at Sousuke’s face and shut his eyes, hoping that Sousuke’s arms around him meant the conversation would go in a positive direction. He felt Sousuke’s chest move as he inhaled. Rin prepared himself for what Sousuke would say--rejection, acceptance, whatever it would be--only to feel him exhale again.

“...Sousuke?” Rin asked.

There was no response.

Rin opened his eyes.

Sousuke was dead asleep, breathing evenly in and out.

Rin groaned and let his head fall against Sousuke's collarbone. “I can’t believe you,” he said. Sousuke didn’t respond, but he’d always been a deep sleeper. Judging by the alcohol on his breath and the shadows beneath his eyes, it would be more than just a few hours before he woke up again.

Rin sighed and let himself enjoy the feel of Sousuke wrapped around him, the heat of his embrace, the smell of his sweat and skin, the deep inhale and exhale of his chest. Then he pried himself away from Sousuke’s arms and the bed, grabbed a towel to wipe himself up, and got dressed again. He looked back at the bed where he could see the rise and fall of Sousuke’s back as he breathed steady.

They couldn't keep doing this. More importantly, Rin was leaving Vegas in two days--one day really, considering the time of night it was now. At the same time as he dreaded the conversation and inevitable awkwardness, he even less wanted his dream come true to last three days and lose Sousuke all over again just because he'd been too much of a coward to do anything about it.

Rin sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled until Sousuke’s hand loosened, large and warm. He slipped the necklace over his head, and put it into Sousuke’s hand before pressing his fingers closed around it again. Whatever Sousuke’s schedule was, Rin knew he was a responsible person, and if he had something of Rin’s, he’d at least call to return it.

Rin watched Sousuke's hand tighten around the pendant. Then he left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok it's continued /rolls off the cliff of shame
> 
> dedicated to all of the terrible people who wanted it continued. there might be a ch3 if i can get past the second-hand embarrassment of writing it aha ha ha ha ha


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